|

|

EA Sports' Ignite engine not on PC because average PCs not powerful enough

EA Sports' Andrew Wilson explains why the Ignite engine isn't being used for FIFA 14, and what will have to happen before EA uses it on the platform.

Next-gen games from EA Sports will use the company's shiny new Ignite engine. However, EA Sports is targeting PS4 and Xbox One, without any mention of PC. FIFA 14, the lone annual sports franchise still appearing on PC, isn't using it. EA Sports executive VP Andrew Wilson has explained why, but says the engine might make the jump to the PC at some point.

Wilson told Polygon that FIFA in particular has a global audience, and most people around the world don't have PCs powerful enough to handle the latest and greatest tech. That's why, until the release of FIFA 11, the company used different engines on PC and consoles. The same logic is at play now.

"So could I see the potential for EA Sports Ignite to make it to PC in the future? Yes, I think it's possible, but a couple of things need to happen," Wilson said. Those criteria include the average PC specs being on-par with the next-gen consoles. It being the average is important, since EA Sports reach such a wide audience, and not all of them have powerful rigs.

Once that happens, he implied that EA would get to work tweaking the engine to work on PC. "There needs to be some adjustment in terms of how EA Sports Ignite works to facilitate the open nature of PC architecture, rather than the closed nature of console architecture."

Steve Watts

Editor-In-Chief

Steve Watts' youthful memories are are a blur of pixels, princesses, castles, and Mega Busters. After writing about games as a pastime for years, he got his first shot at a paid gig at 1UP. He's freelanced for several sites since then, and found a friendly home at Shacknews. His editorial duties include news, reviews, features, and lunatic ravings. He lives in the Baltimore-Washington area with his shockingly understanding wife.